Op-Ed: Legislation for You, Your Family, and Our State

By Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato

After six months of intense work in Albany, it’s always wonderful to come back to our community. Dorothy said it best: there’s no place like home! This year in Albany, while I missed home, I rolled up my sleeves and worked to pass a wide array of bills on nearly every topic. Whether that be helping 9/11 survivors, protecting our Veterans, defending the environment, working towards stronger public safety, or expanding benefits for our governmental employees – I did this to help you, your family, and our state!

I am very pleased to report that I passed 32 bills during this legislative year – once again passing the highest amount of legislation of any NYC-based Assemblymember – all while fighting to make New York the best it can be! One area of legislation I am proud to champion is taking care of our governmental employees, the men and women who work for our towns, cities, and State. This includes transit workers, firefighters, all school employees, sanitation workers, correctional officers, police officers, engineers, nurses, and so many other hard-working individuals. For example, I passed:

• A.74-creates a 100% property tax exemption for disabled Veterans
• A.5861-provides a 20-year retirement plan for firefighters in the FDNY
• A.5458-eases restrictions to allow more first responders to apply for World Trade Center Benefits
• A.6942-enacts a 20-year retirement plan for all NYC Correctional Officers and NYC Sanitation workers
• A.7424-secures salary and benefit enhancement for members of the New York State Police
• A.7428-solidifies that NYC must continue to contribute 7% to all governmental employees pensions
• A.8652-removes the overtime cap for NYC transit workers in Tier 6
• A.8655-increases the special accidental death benefit for dependents by 3%, also known as “The Widows COLA Bill”

As many of you know, this year we had a rather late state budget. Throughout negotiations, I was fighting to ensure we didn’t come out empty-handed – and I’m very happy to report that we didn’t! In fact, I am honored to have worked to bring law enforcement, our schools, and our families benefits and resources they need and deserve! For example, I was able to ensure a salary enhancement for ALL ranks within the NYPD (A.5376) and enact a 20-year retirement plan for the entire NYPD (A.3986). I also wanted our kids to get the best education possible, so I fought to bring $14 BILLION to NYC public schools and record funding of $85.5 million for STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education for our nonpublic schools. In a major victory, I was able to finally fund and enact free school meals, breakfast and lunch, for all students in all our schools! In addition, I voted yes to ensure that the Empire Child Tax Credit was enhanced to $1,000 for each child under 4 and expand the credit to $500 per child aged 4-16.

For us here in Rockaway, I made sure our transportation needs were addressed by securing $100,000 for a feasibility study on the creation of QueensLink. It’s time to finally get an answer and know if we can get a faster train route! And of course, by funding the MTA Capital Plan, Rockaway will be getting an elevator at two of its subway stations.

With the cost-of-living and prices as they are, I was focused on bringing financial support to all of us. For those earning less than $323,000, a new state tax cut is set to take effect that will reduce your state income tax to its lowest rate in decades. I also worked to bring you an inflation refund check which will automatically be sent to people between September and November. For single earners earning less than $75,000, they will receive a one-time check of $200, while single earners making between $75,000-$150,000 will receive a one-time check of $150. For joint filers earning less than $150,000, they will receive a one-time check of $400, and joint filers earning between $150,000-$300,000 will receive a one-time check of $300! As your Assemblywoman, my goal is helping you, and that includes putting money back into your pockets.

In addition, I was honored to collaborate and be the prime co-sponsor on bills that address swim education, assistance to our senior citizens, improving the City’s economy, and so much more like:

• A.2141-ensures individual health information is protected from 3rd parties
• A.3515-requires school districts to provide information regarding water safety to parents or students
• A.3698-creates a real property tax exemption for senior citizens
• A.3729-establishes a property tax exemption for surviving spouses of police officers killed in the line of duty
• A.8276-expands heart disease protection for volunteer firefighters
• A.8676-provides a tax credit for businesses that re-settle in NYC

If you’re interested in seeing the full list of the 32 bills that I passed, please visit my official Assembly webpage assembly.state.ny.us/mem/Stacey-Pheffer-Amato. With the 2025 Legislative Session over, I’m excited to be able to dip my feet in the sand while also starting up my annual district-wide Mobile Office Hours. This is always my favorite time of year as I am able to talk directly to my neighbors and help them. Already in the first half of 2025, my office has resolved over 898 individual constituent cases – helping you and our neighbors get answers to their problems! My team and I are always here for you, and as always, do not hesitate to contact my office by phone at 718-945-9550 or by email at amatos@nyassembly.gov. It is a pleasure to serve you and I look forward to representing you for many more years to come.